. A ring is circular. You have limited space. In a dojo, you have all the space you need. A dojo is usually square. The sidekick, is a straight kick. It can't be thrown at angles. Sometimes you have to step back. That guy was trying to throw his kick when the guy in the shorts rushed in. He didn't move. He got bowled over. If you are able to move freely, it is easier to throw the kick.

Actually it's an ocatagon. Seems like you fail geometry as well as life. And a regulation sized Octagon is much larger than your regulation sized Karate/TKD ring.

Wait, what? Are you saying that If I was being attacked, a kick to the head would damage my rushing opponent more than a kick to the knee or groin? Imagine yourself in the position of the attacker. Would you rather get kicked with a round kick to the head, or a side kick to the knee? The round kick has a chance to stun. The side kick has a larger chance to stun, stop, and disable.

Best Clean kick: Karate Side Kick. Hands down.

Hmm... brain damage or the possibility of getting hit in the theigh because nobody is that precise with their strikes. The roundhouse kick is nice and balanced. Side kick is cool. But you're still wrong. If your opponent is rushing you and you're trying to throw a side-kick your American Krotty is going to get yourself pounded. Meet his force with your own force or if you're fast and reactive enough move the **** out of the way and kick him.

I'm not saying that everyone can kick people in the head standing, I mean, I'm just unnaturally flexible and too much of a risk taker. It's better to just clinch them and either A.) throw them to the ground or B.) Elbow/knee/etc. the **** out of them.

I don't know how you fight, but I bet it's pretty shitty. You should attend the Atlanta mega-throw down and show everyone your flaming sidekick of death.

. A ring is circular. You have limited space. In a dojo, you have all the space you need. A dojo is usually square. The sidekick, is a straight kick. It can't be thrown at angles. Sometimes you have to step back. That guy was trying to throw his kick when the guy in the shorts rushed in. He didn't move. He got bowled over. If you are able to move freely, it is easier to throw the kick.

You're taking the piss aren't you? Have you ever even tried grappling from standup?

If the sidekick is such a good kick to use in a fight, how come I never EVER see it used in bar/streetfights or competitive fighting?

To use a side kick well your have to turn your body first. Whereas a roundkick can be executed while turning your body. Also a front thrust kick doesn't require a body turn at all. If you turn your body first you're not square thus making it difficult to throw punches from either hand. This really limits your options.

the reason for that bing the way they chamber the kicks, that multiplies the power of the kicks. savate was designed in french where it is illegal to punch people but legal to kick, so savate was invented to fight legally.

To use a side kick well your have to turn your body first. Whereas a roundkick can be executed while turning your body. Also a front thrust kick doesn't require a body turn at all. If you turn your body first you're not square thus making it difficult to throw punches from either hand. This really limits your options.

Actually, in a side kick (at least the karate side kick, the yoko kaekomi) you turn your body while executing the kick, so the rotation of the hips adds more power to the kick. After doing a roundhouse, and after doing a side thrust, you would end up in much the same position.
A front thrust is only good against lower targets, which is fine if your tall enough, or you just want to take ou their knees. However, a front thrust lacks the power of the side thrust because you only have the thighs pushing into the kick, as opposed to a side thrust kick where you have the leg as well as the rotation of the hips.

Out of curiosity, what part of the foot do you all strike with in your side (thrust) kicks. In shotokan karate, we strike with the outside edge of the foot.